McMahon loaned herself $9 million in final weeks

Jana Kasperkevic

Published 8:07 pm, Wednesday, December 12, 2012

WASHINGTON -- Money didn't talk in the third most expensive race in the 2012 election, since Linda McMahon spent almost $50 million of her own cash in a failed effort to win the open Senate seat from Connecticut.

The final financial report from her campaign, released Wednesday, shows that she poured $9 million into her efforts in the final weeks before the Nov. 6 election.

Her total campaign war chest came to $50.6 million. McMahon personally financed 96 percent of that total with $48.7 million in loans, a bit less than her unsuccessful 2010 campaign when her personal loans totaled $49.5 million, or 98.6 percent of her campaign budget.

She was defeated last month by Rep. Chris Murphy, who made no personal loans to his campaign and outraised McMahon 5.5 to 1 in contributions, according to the final campaign reports.

McMahon topped the list of those candidates who made personal loans to their campaigns. In second place was Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who loaned his campaign $25 million in a failed attempt to win the Republican Senate nomination; and Pennsylvania Republican Tom Smith, who loaned his campaign $16.5 million in an effort to win a Senate seat.